A young Moroccan footballer died after attempting to swim to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta during a wave of migration crossings at the Moroccan-Spanish border.
Faten Ben Omar El Azizi, who played for Maghreb Atlético Tanger, was among 67 people recorded dead in the crossings. She had previously represented Maghreb Tétouan before joining Athletic de Tanger, and had been considered a promising player despite her young age.
Her death has drawn attention to the condition of women’s football in Morocco at a moment when the country is hosting the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which has showcased the progress of the national team and its infrastructure.
Since 2020, the Moroccan football federation’s annual budget for the women’s game has grown from roughly one million to six million euros. A minimum monthly wage of around 320 euros in the first division and 240 euros in the second division has been introduced; Morocco’s national minimum wage stands at approximately 300 euros.
Youth national team players are now housed alongside their male counterparts at the Mohammed VI sports complex, inaugurated in 2019 and regarded for its modernity. Despite those advances, the death of Ben Omar El Azizi illustrates that financial precarity continues to affect a significant portion of players in the women’s game.
